Vets have saved the sight of a dog who got a stick embedded in her eye socket.

The owners of Mia the collie feared the six-year-old had lost her eye when she emerged from playing in a hedge with a 5cm stick poking from the socket.

Her local vet in Doune, in the Stirling area, quickly referred Mia to the specialist ophthalmology service at the University of Edinburgh’s Hospital for Small Animals at the Royal (Dick) School for Veterinary Studies.

Vets there performed a CT scan to evaluate where the stick was and how much damage it had caused to Mia’s eye.

The scan images revealed the stick was still in one piece and lodged just above the eye, and vets were able to carefully remove the object without the need for an invasive operation, leaving Mia with only a superficial scratch on her eye.

After flushing the area with fluids to make sure there were no remaining fragments, Mia was able to walk out of the clinic unaided and has suffered no long-term damage to her sight.

The vets who treated Mia are delighted with her recovery.

Ben Blacklock, a vet specialist ophthalmologist who led the team at the University of Edinburgh, said: “This was an unusual situation for us and we are really pleased to see Mia back to full health and enjoying life.

“We are lucky to have such an amazing group of people here, including specialists in anaesthesia and radiology, and a highly skilled and compassionate nursing team who could make Mia’s treatment and recovery go as smoothly as possible.”

Mia is now back to full health following the incident in February.

Her owner Paul McGlynn said: “We can’t believe that Mia has escaped with just a scratch, we were convinced she would have to lose her eye.

“We are grateful to the team who treated her and so pleased to have her home as happy as ever.”